


Malfunctional Imprint - Oneshot

by mae7ari



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Dreamtale (Undertale), Alternate Universe - Errortale (Undertale), Alternate Universe - Inktale (Undertale), Dreamtale Nightmare Sans (Undertale), Dreamtale Sans | Dream (Undertale), Error Sans is also bad at feelings, Errortale Sans (Undertale), Errortale Sans/Inktale Sans (Undertale), Ink Sans is bad at feelings, Inktale Sans (Undertale), M/M, Soulless Inktale Sans (Undertale), Underswap Sans (Undertale)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-31
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-03-10 16:28:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,828
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28420185
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mae7ari/pseuds/mae7ari
Summary: This is a remake of a deleted 5K word oneshot I made back in 2020’s summer, plus some other old oneshots added in.Enjoy?Also, I tried to be fluffy but ended up adding angst. I also don’t know nor understand how queerplatonic relationships work, so I probably will not write about them. Sorry.
Relationships: Sans/Sans (Undertale)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 22





	Malfunctional Imprint - Oneshot

I sigh for what seems like the hundredth time today, furrowing my brow - Ink was, yet again, annoying me. See, it wouldn't be that annoying if Ink didn't keep pestering me today. It doesn't help that tomorrow is my birthday, and the squid forgot, as usual.

"Ink," I say venomously, on the last strand of my sanity. Said inky skeleton just smiles - "What~? Do you need something, Glitchy?" "I need you to get the hell out of my AntiVoid!"

Currently, Skittles was painting a galaxy on the ground, somehow.How was the paint even staying on the ground?! Whatever, he needs to leave -

"Nah, it's decent here when it isn't pure white," Ink smirks, making my eye twitch. I repress the urge to hack into the AntiVoid's code and revert the floor back to white, knowing full well that Sir Artist here will have a full blown meltdown.

Tying up said artist with my strings, I hold him in the air, clicking my tongue. "Why the hell are you bothering me today of all days? It could've been any other damn day." His eyes morphing to a purple swirl and an aqua question mark, he eventually asks, "... Can I check my scarf?"

I sigh yet again, letting go of the soulless idiot, his body hitting the ground with a loud thud. If I was a normal person, I'd check him, asking if he was okay. But I'm not a normal person.

Ink rubs his shoulders for a second, then checks his scarf that's filled with notes and doodles from the bottom. The doodles stand out the most, however I don't care about Ink nor his art enough to inspect them.

"Hmm... it says here that I need to harass you before tomorrow, but I don't know what occurs tomorrow," Ink says. I roll my eyelights - of course. "It's my birthday," I snap. "Ohhh. Happy early birthday, Glasses!"

Silence for a few blessed moments. "Hey, Error? Do you hate me?" Ink suddenly asks, clutching his scarf tightly. Ignoring the squid's odd behavior, I contemplate that question. Do I hate him?

That question spun in my head, making me confused. I began to conclude that I don't hate him, for whatever reason, before he speaks up. "Uh, Error? You didn't answer my- wait, did I even ask anything?" Ink mumbles.

My hands curled up, I wondered what changed. I used to despise him with all my being, and suddenly, I didn't anymore. Perhaps it was an accumulation of recent events.

"... I do," I lie, watching him tense. "I do, in fact, hate you. For one, you constantly pester me. Second, you are my opposite, my enemy. Third, and finally, for the 70th damn time, I want you to get the hell out of my AntiVoid."

Standing up, the artist almost looks sad. "... oh. Okay. See ya later," he mumbles, breaking a spare ink vial after spilling water on the ground, jumping through his portal. Huh. That did it, but not threatening to murder him? Odd.

Standing there, I almost feel something weird. Like I just made a terrible mistake.

-

I shudder, collapsing onto my sofa. He... hates me? For real? For some reason, my short term memory fixated on that piece of information, imprinting it into my mind.

... why do I even care? I shouldn't be this upset, if at all. I've never felt attached to anyone before, I don't care about the inhabitants of this multiverse. Yet... I feel as if I just tore my soul into shreds again. My hands shaking, I breathe in and out.

"You look like a mess, Ink," Dream says, walking into the room. I flinch, looking at him. "Stars, Ink, are you okay?" I shudder, clutching my scarf. "Error said he hates me," I mumble. Dream sighs. "He always says that, though. What's different this time?"

"... I asked him if he actually hated me. He was thinking about it, and eventually said he did, then told me to get out of the AntiVoid."

Dream blinks. "Huh. So he hates you for real?" I nod, wincing. "Wait, how come you care about this?" Dream asks. "I dunno! It feels like my nonexistent soul is being crushed into tiny little fragments!" Dream sighs.

"Listen, if he hates you, just let him hate you. Continue doing your jobs like usual. Maybe... one day, something will change." I wince, reminded of my origin, which is something so traumatic that I remember it clearly.

"I'm so dumb," I bemoan, fully collapsing into the sofa. "Damnit, X, of course he'd-" Dream interrupts me with a fake cough. "Sorry to interrupt your drama fest, but get up, Ink. Stop sulking." I grumble, sinking into the sofa more.

Stupid, stupid, stupid...

You should've just died when you tore your soul apart, X.

Even better, you shouldn't even have been created.

Dream pulls me up. "You look like someone you love just died," Dream says. "Shuddup, Dream. Let me suffocate to death in the sofa." "You're an out!code, Ink. You can't die." Right, as well as my dumb high tier regeneration powers.

I wince, feeling a deep pain in my chest, like an injury. "Is Error destroying another AU?" Dream asks. I nod, grabbing my paintbrush and jumping into a portal.

I use up almost all my emotions as I'm going through said portal.

-

I manically grin, killing the Frisk of this miserable dying AU. Suddenly I hear a tap-tap-tap of footsteps, sounding awfully similar to Ink's. I groan, narrowing my eyes and turning around. "What? Do you want to get beaten into a pulp, Protector?"

Ink looks scarily emotionless, and I notice that his vials are nearly completely empty. Did he overuse his dumb emotions? Hah, loser. "Step aside before I kill you where you stand," Ink states. I glare at him, feeling a sense of familiarity with that sentence. Where have I heard that before...?

Suddenly, I feel a sense of dread, my body glitching as I see... Frisk Classic? They're holding a small, sharp knife, grinning like a maniac, eerily similar to the one I had on my face earlier. I step back, my breathing quickening. "Get aw͖ay̬͜ ̙̣́f͕̉͋́ṟ̄̾o̬̥m͎̪͎̈́ ̧̬̗͔͈͆̅̅͐̈́ͅm͛ę̮͙͇͍͇̉͆̃̾̍͑̇̕͠͠!̨̨̪̣͇̰̮̪͙̈́̕̚͜͠͠" I scream, the illusion shattering, seeing Ink tilt his head slightly.

"... why are you so scared, Glasses?" Ink asks, his eyelights morphing into pale, sickly purple ovals. Trying to calm my breathing, I pant, error messages frantically moving around me. "Get the hell away from me," I snap, about to attack him.

Stepping forward, Ink's eyelights morph into pale light pink hearts, a small smile on his face. "C'mon, Glitchy. I won't hurt you." I pause, feeling strange as I stare at him. "... fine," I huff, letting him approach me. Hugging me, Ink mumbles something I can't hear.

... why do I feel gooey inside, suddenly? What is this...

-

Today is...

... what happens today?

Stupid memory. I'm in the AntiVoid, holding a sketchbook, for a reason I forgot. Humming, I flip to the most recent page. Oh!! It's Error's birthday! How the hell did I forget that again?! Walking with purpose, I roam around the AntiVoid. Slowly, I begin to panic - I have no idea where I am. How big is this place?

The white suffocates me, and I drop to my knees, breathing heavily. ... Why am I here again? I can't remember. White surrounds me, filling my senses. I need to leave. I try to stand up, unable to. Am I petrified? Ugh, now isn't the time...

Something vaguely familiar wraps around me, lifting me up, and I practically sigh with relief when I see Error. "Idiot... do you WANT to have a panic attack? Couldn't you have waited to pester me another day-?" Error notices the sketchbook on the ground, and I feel my body run cold. "D-don't touch that!"

Ignoring me, he picks it up, flipping through the pages slowly. Ugh, great, now he's seen my art. Wait, why the hell am I even here again? I try to grab my scarf, unable to. Error finally reaches the last page, pausing. "... you remembered."

Remembered what?? Exasperated, he shows me the page. "... Happy birthday, Error...? Oh, wait, yeah! It's your birthday!" I say happily. "... why am I tied up?" I ask. Error face palms. "You were panicking because of your dumb leukophobia." Ah.

"Thanks, for the drawing," he mumbles, flushing light yellow. I blink, then grin. "No problem! Just remember my own birthday!" Error sighs, smiling slightly. "Why would I forget? I always remember." I think back. "... you've never given me a birthday gift."

"Neither have you, Skittles, before now."

-

I groan, throwing the crochet needles on the ground. No matter what I do, it isn't perfect. ... maybe I should do my other secret hobby. Grumbling, I take out a pencil and a sketchbook, already despising what I'm doing. See, my drawings are good, but I never actually show anyone.

What would they think when they find out the Destroyer of AU's can draw well?

What should I draw...? Outertale. Yes, Outertale. I step through a portal, calming down as I stare at the stars. We both love this place.

Sketching, I don't notice a distinct blip of ink. I don't notice a small gasp as a certain someone notices what I'm doing.

Smiling, I finish the sketch. Then I realize someone's next to me. Hissing, I clumsily scoot away, blinking when I see a happy Ink. "You can draw?!" I grumble, standing up. "I'm not answering that." "No no no, you are NOT leaving! You can draw?! And well, I might add!"

Resigning to my fate, I sit back down. "Shut up, Anomaly #2," I snap, before realizing my mistake. I've never called him that out loud, especially not to his face. "... you have a number for me?" Ink asks, clutching his dumb scarf. "Maybe. Possibly."

"... what number are you, then?" Ink asks, curious. I glitch. "It doesn't m̩a̛t̨t͔ë̮̼̍r̐̀ w̜̤͓͑͝h̆̎̀a̠̪͇͝t̘ ǹ̦͓̬̞̊u̱̟͒̂̕̕͝ḿ̦̃ḅ̈́́͗e̪͒̓͑́͛͘̚r̫̰͙͈̭͈͙ ̧̢̜͍͓͔̂̈́̐̌̀̃͘͠I̡ ͉̏͌̃̇̚͡ą̧̖̝̘̞̇̄̂̅͛͋̑̕m͇̭̓͘͜!̱̻̫̗͂̂̾" I say harshly. "Okay, okay, I was just asking."

"Oh, look at the time, I have a Moon Sans meeting," I lie, standing up and creating a portal to the AntiVoid.

-

"Stop daydreaming about Error," Dream says nonchalantly as I choke. "What?!" I exclaim. Dream smirks. "Buddy, pal. I don't know what the hell is going on with you, but it has to do with a certain Destroyer. What~, are you two secretly dating or something?" I cough, glaring at Dream.

"You know I'm aroace."

"Uhuh, and I know you can feel love because of those vials. I've felt it radiate from you before, as dull and not-human-like as it was." I narrow my eyes. "Give me proof and I'll believe you."

And from then on, Dream tried to catch a moment where I felt love. Pfft. Like I could ever...

Hanging out at a Christmas party, I'm sitting down, watching the couples dance. It's not like I WANT to join them, I'm just looking. Dream sits nearby, twisting off a cap of wine, sighing. "This whole idea Blue made is dumb. He just wanted to invite the Moon Sans group so he could see Cherry, I bet."

I roll my eyelights. "Yeah, like he has a crush on Cherry." Dream face palms. "Have you even been paying attention to them this entire party?" I look at Swap, smiling and laughing with Cherry. "... never mind, he definitely has a crush. Or he's just really happy. Or really drunk."

"As much as Blue likes to spike the punch, he never drinks. ... he reminds me of Nightmare," Dream says, the last part quiet. I look at Dream. "What do you mean? Hasn't Nightmare always been like how he is?" Dream sighs, squeezing the wine bottle a bit too tightly for my comfort.

"... he used to be... a kind soul. Smart, kind, lovable... then a village was built. That's when everything changed. The village... it broke him. It broke me, too," Dream whispers, nearly breaking the bottle. "It... I... I will never forgive myself. I never helped him. I let him suffer. I always... ignored his issues, paying more attention to the villagers and my own issues."

Strong negative emotions radiate from Dream, making me concerned.

"I made him become how he is now."

The wine bottle finally breaks, snapping Dream out of his mini rant. A goopy figure walks over to us. "I felt strong negative emotions. Who the fuck was it?" Nightmare sighs. Dream looks down, staring at his stained red clothes and the broken bottle. Then he stands up, walking past Nightmare without a word.

"What's wrong with him? He seems out of it," Nightmare asks me. "He was ranting to me, it's not important," I say. Nightmare narrows his eye. "Yeah, no, I felt guilt radiate from him. Strong negative emotion like he was feeling accumulates after traumatic experiences. What was he ranting about? Tell the truth."

I gulp. To tell the truth, or to not...

"... he was talking about his past," I decide to say. "Ah. Of course. Talking about me behind my back, I assume?" Nightmare says, sitting next to me. The paint in me swirls, creating a sense of discomfort. "... yes?"

"How much did he say?"

"All he said was... something about a village? Uh, and something about everything being his fault," I say, nearly completely forgetting what I'm talking about. "Nightmare, my memory is shit, don't expect me to quote everything word for word."

"Moron Daydream," Nightmare mutters, standing up. "Eh, I can swallow my pride for maybe 5 minutes. See ya, Ink."

Nightmare leaves, trying to find Dream.

I drink beer, my mind slightly hazy. I look up, someone approaching me. "Eh? Error?" Error grumbles, apparently being forced to talk to me. "Follow me." I stand up, following him. I'm about to follow him into a corner, when I see mistletoe. I laugh softly. "Really?" Error frowns. "Listen, my dumb "friends" wanted to see if we'd actually kiss or something stupid. I don't want to, you don't want to, let's just fucking do it and get it over with."

Sighing, I follow him into the corner, very much aware that everyone in the room is staring at us. Oh, wow, look! The Protector and the Destroyer are standing beneath mistletoe, oh no~! I wonder what the hell will happen!

"... just do it already," Error grumbles.

Kissing him, I feel an odd emotion, like my nonexistent soul is being melted into goo. What...?

Pulling away, I glare at him, and he glares right back. "That's the only time that'll happen," I declare. "That's fine with me, you kiss horribly," Error smirks. I want to strangle him. "I do not! Shut up! You don't even have kissing experience, I bet!" He makes strangled noise, his eye twitching.

I walk right into Dream when I turn around - he's laughing. "Oh my god, I caught it! Hahaha!" I freeze, knowing what he's talking about. "SHUT UP! I CAN'T EVEN- I'M-" Dream laughs more. "Oh stars, this is hilarious! I was just joking when I said-"

I run out of the room, ignoring everyone staring at me.

-

I look at Ink running out of the room. "... what the hell did you do to him, dreamcatcher?" Dream smirks. "I told him I'd catch a moment where he feels a certain emotion, and I just caught him feeling it." I grumble. "Like what, love?" Dream grins.

"Maybe~!"

I freeze, realizing the implications of that.

"I will murder both you and your brother if you ever talk about that again."

Running after Ink, I eventually find him in my AntiVoid, breaking his vials. "Stupid, stupid, stupid! You're not allowed to feel that!" Ink snaps at himself. I watch in concern. "You don't have a soul anymore! You aren't allowed to feel... to feel love! You aren't allowed to be attached to anybody, X!"

... X?

"Fucking hell, X! You're supposed to be dead anyway, but why not screw up the entire multiverse!" Ink sobs, smashing his vials into the ground. "... why couldn't you have just died, X? You ripped it into shreds, so why couldn't you have just-?!"

"... Ink? Why are you...?"

Ink freezes, his eyelights red dots as he looks up at me. They morph into blue tear drops. "Leave me alone, Error," he begs. "No. Who is X? I don't recognize that name." Ink tenses, his shoulders trembling. "It doesn't matter. X is dead. X is supposed to be dead."

I look at him.

"Who is X?"

Ink doesn't answer immediately. "... I'm X. That was my name before I left my home AU." I blink. He has a home AU?

Sighing, Ink tells his origin story.

"... when I was created, I was in a white void. My clothes were white, everything... everything was white. I was the only person there. Everything was unfinished. Every day... I slowly grew more and more insane, my memory shattering, creating short term memory loss. One day, crying and sobbing, yelling at myself, I created a change.

I destroyed my soul."

Tears fall down my cheeks. He had a soul? He destroyed it? How is he alive?

"... when I was brought back... I gained new equipment. Art supplies, new clothes... the Creators called me Ink. I started to stop calling myself X out loud in front of others, only calling myself Ink."

Picking him up, I hug him. He slowly hugs me back. "Ink... I have no idea how you're alive, but I'm happy you are, despite how annoying you are." Crying, he burrows his face into my chest. "Thank you..."

...

After... that incident, we haven't talked about what happened - probably because his memory is garbage - but I have a feeling he remembers. I grumble, an ache in my soul. I need to destroy.

... or, I could talk to him, like a regular person...

I settle for the latter. I want to try and improve my behavior.

I find him in Outertale, doodling and humming a quiet tune that sounds awfully similar to "Underverse OST- Megalovania" - whatever that is. "Boo," I say, smirking. "AGAGHSHD-" Ink screams, sounding like he's keyboard mashing but with his voice. "Damn, dude, I just said boo," I grin.

Ink glares at me. "What do you want, Windows Vista?" He's acting weird... might as well play along. "Oh, I dunno Skittles, pestering you." Ink narrows his eyes. "Stop acting like me, Error. I'm not having the greatest day." Ah. "What's wrong?"

"For one, Dream keeps pestering me. Two, I do not like what he pesters me about." Hmm. Wild guess, it's about your emotions. Carefully, I ask, "What does he pester you about?" He looks down, sighing. "... love. Specifically what type of love I have for - ah, someone." Uhuh, yes, please CLARIFY.

Ink pulls up his scarf so that it covers his face, mumbling something. I sigh, trying to get him to stop and just tell me already. "UGH! FINE, FINE, FINE I'LL TELL YOU!" Ink snaps, exasperated. "Uhm, hmm, how do I- ahh-" I face palm.

"... the person... I think I love them... aghh... romantically? But I'm not sure? Because I've never had, y'know, romantic attraction to anybody before now? Uughfhf-"

I flush yellow, wincing slightly. "Hmm... maybe you should tell them," I offer, knowing damn well that I'll say hell no if he wants to date me. "Uh, yeah, no. I'm not going to tell them." Pfft, like you aren't already? Unless I'm wrong... unless...

My soul suddenly aches again. I just assumed that it was me - why would it be? There's no reason it could be me, yet I instinctively thought it was. It probably isn't me. Yeah, I shouldn't worry about it. Don't think about it. Don't think about it.

I grumble, already knowing what I'm feeling. I just didn't want to admit it to myself. "Error? You okay?" I sigh, my breathing slowing down as I put on a blank face. I don't care about Ink, I don't care about anyone. "See ya, Ink."

-

Error hasn't destroyed a single AU since I indirectly told him that I might love him. Maybe he took it the wrong way? Or maybe he wasn't kidding when he said he hates me...

Maybe he really does hate me.

Maybe I should check on him... he'd probably try to kill me, though.

Maybe's and what if's fill my head, corrupting my conscience.

If anything, the one thing I knew about being a Sans is that you question everything. I snap out of my train of thought, deciding to visit Error, writing down on my scarf what I'm doing so I don't forget in the moment.

I walk around the AntiVoid, managing to find him quickly. "Ink...?" Error frowns. Quickly, his expression of curiosity fades into an emotionless mask. "What do you want, Skittles?" I hum, looking at the bottom of my scarf, eventually finding the answer. "I grew concerned about you not destroying an AU," I quote.

A crack of a sad, small smile shows on his face, quickly going away. "Oh. Well, I'm okay, Ski- Ink," he says, nearly slipping up and using the same insult twice. Clearly he isn't okay. I huff, giving him an unamused look. "Uhuh. Is this about me saying I might love someone?" He stiffens, then relaxes again. "Nope," he lies.

Well wasn't that obvious.

I sigh, irritated, feeling my eyelights morph. Probably into red dots. "Error, I swear to Toby Fox," I snap. He flinches slightly. "You can't even feel love!" Error retorts. I roll my eyelights, "According to Dream-"

"DREAM CȀN S͙̗͗U̓͠ĊK̡̛͈̬̃̈́ ͛̚Ỵ̤̟̇̊͌O̺̝̳͎̣̊̉͘͠Ų̗̓R̹̪͎̦̗̃̔͟ ̡̢̟̩D̛̘̖̣͇I̢̘̺̹̤͖̜̱͆͘͘C̢̼̥̑̽̈̾͜K̢̛̼̳͙̣̬̞̩̓̀͌͋̃̕͜͠!̺̝̖͔̳͈̬̝̌͊͋̔̎͜͠"

"Buddy, pal, friend - I'm a skeleton. I do not possess any sexual organs," I reply, somehow understanding what he said.

Groaning, Error glares at me. "You're probably dating Dream, aren't you. Or Swap. Or literally anybody-" I'm so goddamn confused. Wait... "Hold on, wait a minute. Are you jealous?" And that does it. I hear a loud beep, realizing way too late that he rebooted.

Humming to SAVE the World, I wait.

The moment he finishes his reboot, he glares at me.

"Alright, where were we? Oh right, I was about to skin you alive-"

I once again interrupt him. "Again, I'm a skeleton. I don't have skin."

"SHUT UP!"

"Right, right. Are you jealous?" I ask. He hums, glaring at me. "Maybe I would be when I see your boyfriend." I smirk - gotcha. "Who says they're a boy? Or a Sans, for that matter, now that I'm thinking about it?"

He looks like he just watched his lover die in front of him. That seems vaguely familiar, for some reason.

"Shut up," he mumbles, turning away. "I knew it... I knew it." Error mutters to himself, ignoring me. "Uh, Error?" He sighs. "What?"

"You do realize that I was talking about you, correct?"

"... what."

"I mean, it wasn't that obvious now that I think about it, but - ah?" I get cut off by him hugging me. "You friggin- ugh- I hate you," he mumbles. I smile. "Hate you too."


End file.
